Secondary school accountability measures in England - their effectiveness, effects and an exploration of alternative approaches.

In 1992 the UK Government first published school performance metrics for each state-funded school in England. These form what are commonly referred to as the school "league tables". These publications have their origins in the Education Reform Acts of 1980, 1988 and 1992, the aim of which was to introduce a national curriculum, high-stakes testing and market forces into the education system. In turn these metrics inform the inspections carried out by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). Over the 28 year history of the publication of these measures there have been some extremely significant changes, which derive from a variety of sources, including changes to the qualification structures and the stated desired outcomes for students from those with responsibility for governing over this area. The metric used have changed considerably over the lifetime of the accountability measures to include value added and contextualised value added measures, threshold measures of numbers of 'good' examination grades and levels of expected progress from a measured starting point. The most recent iterations of these measures are a) 'Attainment 8' and b) 'Progress 8'. These measure a) the 'attainment' of a cohort of students in a specified group of subject categories and b) the 'progress' of those students from a measured starting point in that group of specified subject categories when compared with their peers across England